The prior art discloses a carrying body of the above mentioned type with the carrying body being shaped like a boot and having a rear end which is fully open for entry through the filler gun nozzle and the gun head, and a front end with a substantially smaller opening through which the filler gun nozzle extends when the carrying body is fitted onto the filler gun. A carrying body of such prior art type has an upper surface which effectively covers only the upper region of the gun head in order to define the elongate display surface for messages. Such carrying bodies are suitable for use in countries having only a very limited number of filler gun types, such as, for example, in Norway, Denmark, Germany and Sweden. However, in other areas of the world, the number of differently designed filler guns may be substantially higher. In the United States of America, for example, the number of differently shaped filler guns is in excess of ten. Such a large number of different types of filler guns requires a large number of differently made carrying bodies. In practice, it is difficult to obtain the same display surface area and configuration for each carrying body type. Also, some filler guns are so designed that they are difficult to design so as to be easily fitted and removed from a carrying body.
It is highly desirable to have a carrying body which is easily attachable to the filler gun even by an inexperienced person, and also to have a carrying body which is easily removable from the filler gun when maintenance is to be carried out on the filler gun, e.g. repair of the fuel valve within the filler gun head.
Most filler guns are known to have the gun head covered by a protective boot of rubber or plastic material, both for protecting the gun head against damage and to prevent a bare gun head from making scratches on a car's paint work. Removing such protective boot from a filler gun in order to mount a carrying body according to the present invention is both time consuming, resulting in a waste of the boot material, and causes the gun head to be less protected. The present invention therefore also includes the feature of being able to be fitted onto a filler gun without having to remove such protective boot.
According to a first embodiment of the present invention, the carrying body comprises a first member and a second member and means for releasably interconnecting the first and second members, the first and second members being shaped to generally conform, when so interconnected, to enclose the side, bottom, and upper portions of the gun head, and means pivotally connected to a top surface of the carrying body for supporting a replaceable message card placed on the display surface of the first member.
According to another embodiment of the present display apparatus, the carrying body comprises a lower member and an upper member releasably engageable with the lower member, the lower member having two side panels, a bottom element, and means connecting the side panels with the bottom element. The lower member, when the two side panels and the bottom element are brought to lie against the gun head, fits substantially around a lower part of the gun head. The side panels have at their top region a first interlocking means, the upper member being formed as a cap-like member to fit over an upper part of the gun head, and having a second interlocking means for releasably engaging the first interlocking means on the lower member, and a top member releasably engageable with the upper member. The top member has mears for releasable engagement with the upper member, space being provided between an upper surface of the upper member and a portion of the top member for locating a replaceable message card when the top member and the upper member engage.
When the filler gun head is of the type already covered by a protective boot of rubber of plastic material, the carrying body can be fitted on the filler gun without having to remove the protective boot.
In a further embodiment of the display apparatus, the carrying body comprises a lower member and an upper member releasably or pivotally engageable with the lower member, and further a top member which is releasably engageable with the upper member. The top member has a curved configuration along its length.
According to a further embodiment of the display apparatus, the carrying body may comprise a lower member, an upper member releasably engageable with the lower member, the lower member having two side panels, a bottom element, and means connecting the side panels with the bottom element. The lower member, when the two side panels and the bottom element are brought to lie against the gun head, substantially surrounds a lower part of the gun head. The side panels have at their top regions a first interlocking means, and the upper member is formed as a cap-like means to fit over an upper part of the gun head, and having a second interlocking means for releasably engaging the first interlocking means onto the lower member. The upper member may have an upper (top) surface for locating a replaceable message card. The upper surface has along at least a portion of its peripheral edge an upwardly extending rim and means protruding up from the upper (top) surface for releasably engaging holes in the message card. This latter embodiment is also useful on a filler gun which has its gun head covered by a protective boot, because there is no need to remove the protective boot before fitting the carrying body to the filler gun.
It is also possible to provide a carrying body comprising a lower member, and an upper member releasably engaging with the lower member, the upper member having a top surface with a curved configuration along its length.
Although, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the two side panels are brought towards each other to lie against opposite sides of the gun head, it is possible, with a choice of suitable material for the lower member, to have the two side panels integrally joined at a front region thereof. Such a variant may be useful in order to provide typical male/female elements for matching and joining front region edges of the two side panels.
Contrary to the prior art carrying body, the carrying body of the present invention is made of a substantially hard plastic material, e.g. polyamide. The pivotally connected member or top member is also suitably made of a substantially hard plastic material, e.g. polycarbonate.
If the carrying body is provided with a pivotally connected top member, such member can be a lid with a transparent face portion for viewing a message therethrough, or a frame with an open space between opposite sides of the frame. In the case of a frame, the frame can be made of a transparent or non-transparent material, for example, polycarbonate, and the color thereof can therefore be of the same color as that of the carrying body or a color forming a typical contrast to the color of the carrying body. Also, such frame can have a portion carrying information related to the type of fuel supplied from the gun.
In yet another embodiment, a protective body is shaped to generally conform to enclose the gun head, and a holder pivotally connects to the protective body for releasably holding a message card between the holder and the protective body. The holder pivots to a side of the gun head so as to provide access for insertion and removal of the message card from the side of the gun head. Preferably, the holder is a pivotal frame portion configured to hold the message card along a portion of the periphery of the message card. The protective body preferably includes a fixed frame portion for receiving the message card along a portion of the periphery of a message card. Each of the pivotal frame portion and the fixed frame portion may have a recess for receiving the edge of the message card so as to form a frame along a substantial portion of the periphery of the message card.
These, and further, embodiments of the display apparatus according to the present invention will appear from the description below with reference to the attached drawing figures, as well as the attached patent claims.
The present invention is now to be described with reference to the attached drawing figures illustrating preferred, but non-limitative embodiments of the present invention.